Presently, a mechanic or other person working with machinery such as factory equipment or automobiles has been required to have on hand a full set of sockets of varying sizes to meet the needs that are encountered. Typically both an American set of sockets and a metric set of sockets of varying sizes are required.
A typical set of sockets may include fifteen or twenty sockets of varying sizes ranging from about a half inch or one centimeter up to two to three inches or seventy or eighty centimeters.
It is desirable to have a socket that is adjustable to fit a large range of sizes of fasteners without regard to whether they are American or metric.
Such a socket would replace the myriad of sockets that a mechanic is presently required to have on hand. This would result in a lighter load that a mechanic would have to carry to a job, and simplify the selection of a socket for tightening or loosening a fastener as the case might be. Further, the ability of one socket to replace a myriad of sockets is economically advantageous to the mechanic since only one socket need be purchased.